Skipping the opening sequence of streaming content

ABSTRACT

Described herein are various embodiments directed to skipping the opening sequence of streaming content. An embodiment operates by streaming content to a display device and determining an end of a teaser portion has been reached using crowdsourced metadata. Responsive to the determining, a skin icon is provided to the display device for display. A selection of the skip icon is received to advance past the title sequence/opening credits portion of the content. An end to the title sequence/opening credits portion of the content is determined using the crowdsourced metadata. The streaming of the content is advanced to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portion of the content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/148,711 entitled “Skipping Content of Lesser Interest When StreamingMedia” by Wood et al., filed Jan. 14, 2021, which is a continuation ofU.S. Pat. No. 10,938,871 entitled “Skipping Content of Lesser InterestWhen Streaming Media” by Wood et al., filed Feb. 10, 2021, both of whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Field

This disclosure is generally directed to pre-indexing content to provideenhanced media streaming functionality.

Background

In today's world, on-demand availability of content—such as movies, TVshows and music, to name just a few examples—is commonplace. But theelectronic and computerized storage and delivery of content offers thepotential for far more than just the availability and vanilla playbackof content. For example, through innovative use of technology, it ispossible to generate content recommendations that are tailored forindividual users, as well as to customize the viewing experience to eachuser's personal preferences.

But, existing media systems and services still fall short in many areas.For example, many media systems and services require users to experiencecontent in a linear manner, requiring them to view portions of contenthaving little or no interest. Also, too often, media systems andservices fail to leverage the immense knowledge base of the Internet andother sources when presenting content to users; thus, while streamingcontent may be available on an on-demand basis, related information isnot, at least not in an easily accessible manner.

SUMMARY

Provided herein are various embodiments for skipping the openingsequence of streaming content. In a non-limiting embodiment, content isstreamed to a display device and it is determined that an end of ateaser portion has been reached using crowdsourced metadata. Responsiveto the determining, a skin icon is provided to the display device fordisplay. A selection of the skip icon is received to advance past thetitle sequence/opening credits portion of the content. An end to thetitle sequence/opening credits portion of the content is determinedusing the crowdsourced metadata. The streaming of the content isadvanced to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portion of thecontent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein and form a part of thespecification.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a multimedia environment thatincludes media system(s), crowdsource server(s) and content server(s),according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a media device, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate example databases of a media device, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for enabling a user to skip overuninteresting portion(s) of content when streaming such content,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for crowdsourced identification ofparticular portion(s) of content, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for enabling users to select and viewancillary or associated information when streaming content using anenhanced trick mode, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example screen shot displayed on a display device,according to some embodiments

FIG. 9 illustrates an example computer system useful for implementingvarious embodiments.

In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical orsimilar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of areference number identifies the drawing in which the reference numberfirst appears.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a multimedia environment 102,according to some embodiments. In a non-limiting example, multimediaenvironment 102 is directed to streaming media.

The multimedia environment 102 may include one or more media systems104, one or more content servers 122, and one or more crowdsourceservers 114, communicatively coupled via a network 120. In variousembodiments, the network 118 can include, without limitation, wiredand/or wireless intranet, extranet, Internet, cellular, Bluetooth and/orany other short range, long range, local, regional, globalcommunications network, as well as any combination thereof.

Media system 104 may include a display device 106, media device 108 andremote control 110. Display device 106 may be a monitor, television,computer, smart phone, tablet, and/or projector, to name just a fewexamples. Media device 108 may be a streaming media device, DVD device,audio/video playback device, cable box, and/or digital video recordingdevice, to name just a few examples. In some embodiments, the mediadevice 108 can be a part of, integrated with, operatively coupled to,and/or connected to display device 106. The media device 108 may beconfigured to communicate with network 120.

A user 112 may interact with media system 104 via remote control 110.Remote control 110 can be any component, part, apparatus or method forcontrolling media device 108 and/or display device 106, such as a remotecontrol, a tablet, laptop computer, smartphone, on-screen controls,integrated control buttons, or any combination thereof, to name just afew examples.

Content servers 120 (also called content sources 120) may each includedatabases to store content 124 and metadata 126. Content 124 may includeany combination of music, videos, movies, TV programs, multimedia,images, still pictures, text, graphics, gaming applications,advertisements, software, and/or any other content or data objects inelectronic form. In some embodiments, metadata 126 comprises data aboutcontent 124. For example, metadata 126 may include associated orancillary information indicating or related to writer, director,producer, composer, artist, actor, summary, chapters, production,history, year, trailers, alternate versions, related content,applications, and/or any other information pertaining or relating to thecontent 124. Metadata 126 may also or alternatively include links to anysuch information pertaining or relating to the content 124. Metadata 126may also or alternatively include one or more indexes of content 124(examples of such indexes are further described below with respect toFIGS. 3-4 ).

Crowdsource servers 114 may each include a boundary processing module116 and a database 118. In some embodiments, boundary processing module116 receives and processes information identifying portions in content124 having little or no interest to users. In some crowdsourcedembodiments, boundary processing module 116 receives such informationfrom users 112 via their media systems 104. Boundary processing module116 may store such received information, as well as processing andanalysis of such received information, in database 118.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of the media device 108,according to some embodiments. Media device 108 may include a streamingmodule 202, processing module 204, user interface module 206 anddatabase 208.

Now referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , in some embodiments, user 112 may useremote control 110 to interact with media device 108 to select content,such as a movie, TV show, music, book, application, game, etc. Mediadevice 108 may request the selected content from content server(s) 122over the network 120. Content server(s) 122 may transmit the requestedcontent to media device 108. Media device 108 may transmit the receivedcontent to display device 106 for presentation to user 112. In streamingembodiments, media device 108 may transmit the content to display device106 in real time or near real time as it receives such content fromcontent server(s) 122. In non-streaming embodiments, media device 108may buffer or store the content received from content server(s) 122 indatabase 208 for later playback on display device 106.

Skipping Content

Too often, streaming media systems and services require users toexperience streaming content in a linear manner, requiring them to viewportions of content having little or no interest. Consider, for example,content 124A shown in FIG. 3 (content 124A may be stored in database 208of media device 108, as shown in the example of FIG. 3 , or streamedfrom content server(s) 122 via network 120). For non-limitingillustrative purposes, assume content 124A is a television show 124A.Generally, television show 124A has three parts: a teaser 302 (alsosometimes called a cold open), a title sequence and/or opening credits304, and a feature 306 which is the remainder of the television show124A (sometimes referred to herein as the show proper).

Often when streaming content 124A to her display device 106, the user112 may wish to skip over the title sequence/opening credits 304. Thismay be particularly true after the user 112 has already viewed the titlesequence/opening credits 304 when watching the first episode of theassociated TV series. A conventional solution to skipping over the titlesequence/opening credits 304 is using the fast forward function. Butthis approach is often bulky and inefficient, as the user 112 may fastforward past the end of the title sequence/opening credits 304, and thenmust rewind back to the beginning of the feature 306. This problem isparticularly acute in digital playback systems (such as streaming mediaplayers, DVRs, etc.) where the trick mode index may not line up with theend of the title sequence/opening credits 304 (or, equivalently, thebeginning of the feature 306).

Also, there is often a blurry line between the end of the titlesequence/opening credits 304 and the beginning of the feature 306.Sometimes the feature 306 may overlap with the title sequence/openingcredits 304. This may be especially true in streaming applications, forexample, where there may not be a commercial or other hard break betweenthe title sequence/opening credits 304 and the feature 306. Thus, tryingto use the fast forward function on the remote control 110 to skip overthe title sequence/opening credits 304 and go directly to the feature306 may be a frustrating experience for the user 112.

In some embodiments, to address this problem, metadata 126A isassociated with the content 124A. As noted above, the metadata 126A maystore information pertaining or relating to the content 124A, and mayinclude index 308. In some embodiments, index 308 may include pointers310 to content 124A. In particular, index 308 may include pointer 310Athat points to the beginning 316 of the teaser 302, pointer 310B thatpoints to the beginning 318 of the title sequence/opening credits 304,and pointer 310C that points to the end 320 of the titlesequence/opening credits 304. Index 308 may have other pointers 310pointing to other points in content 124A.

In some embodiments, content 124A and metadata 126A may be transferredfrom content server(s) 122 to the user 112's media device 108 overnetwork 120 at the same time (or substantially the same time). In otherembodiments, content 124A and metadata 126A may be transferred fromcontent server(s) 122 to the user 112's media device 108 at differenttimes. For example, metadata 126A may be preloaded and stored indatabase 208 of media device 108, or may be transferred to media device108 from content server(s) 122 during pauses in the display of content124A on the display device 106.

Some embodiments may use the pointers 310 in the index 308 to enable auser 112 to easily and effectively skip over the title sequence/openingcredits 304. This skip functionality is graphically depicted in FIG. 3as skip option 324, that when selected by user 112 skips over a portion326 of content 124A from the beginning 318 of the title sequence/openingcredits 304 to the end 320 of the title sequence/opening credits 304.

An example of such operation is depicted in FIG. 5 , that shows a method502 for enabling a user to skip over uninteresting portion(s) of contentwhen streaming such content, according to some embodiments. Method 502can be performed by processing logic that can comprise hardware (e.g.,circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.),software (e.g., instructions executing on a processing device), or acombination thereof. It is to be appreciated that not all steps may beneeded to perform the disclosure provided herein. Further, some of thesteps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order thanshown in FIG. 5 , as will be understood by a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

For illustrative purposes, FIG. 5 is described with reference to FIGS.1-3 , but the method 502 is not limited to these example embodiments.

In 504, media device 108 in the user 112's media system 104 maydetermine the end of the teaser 302 (or, equivalently, the beginning ofthe title sequence/opening credits 304) in content 124A. For example, in504, the processing module 204 of media device 108 may access the index308 in the metadata 126A stored in database 208, and retrieve pointer310B that points to the end 318 of the teaser 302.

In 506, media device 108 may determine the end of the titlesequence/opening credits 304 in content 124A. For example, in 506, theprocessing module 204 may access the index 308 in the metadata 126A, andretrieve pointer 310C that points to the end 320 of the titlesequence/opening credits 304.

In 508, media device 108 may begin streaming the content 124A forplayback on the display device 106. For example, in 508, the streamingmodule 202 of media device 108 may begin streaming the content 124A tothe display device 106, either as the content 124 is received fromcontent servers 122 over network 120, or by retrieving content 124 fromdatabase 208. It is noted that operation 508 may begin prior tooperation 504, or at any time in parallel with operations 504 and 506.

In 510, processing module 204 and/or streaming module 202 may determinewhen the end 318 of the teaser 302 has been reached in the stream of thecontent 124A to the display device 106. When the end 318 of the teaser302 has been reached, and while continuing to stream the content forplayback on the display device 106, the user interface module 206 in themedia device 108 may display a “skip” icon (such as the example skipicon 324 in FIG. 3 ) on the display device 106. For example, the skipicon 324 may be displayed in a location on display device 106 outsidethe window wherein the content 124A is being displayed. In someembodiments, the skip icon 324 may be displayed on the display device106 during the entire period when the title sequence/opening credits 304are being streamed to and played back on display device 106.

In 512, if the user 112 selects the skip icon 324 (using remote control110, for example), then the streaming module 202 may use pointer 310C inindex 308 to access the end 320 of the title sequence/opening credits304. Then, the streaming module 202 may advance the streaming of content124A to display device 106 to that end 320 of the title sequence/openingcredits 304. In this manner, the user 112 is able to skip playback ofthe title sequence/opening credits 304 at any point during itspresentation on display device 106.

In some embodiments, flowchart 502 is performed only if the content 124Ais not the first episode in a series (such as a TV series or a series ofmovies). In this manner, the title sequence/opening credits 304 arepresented to the user 112 during playback of the first episode in aseries (although the user 112 can still use conventional fast forwardfunctionality to skip the title sequence/opening credits 304). In otherembodiments, flowchart 502 is performed for all episodes in a series.

In some embodiments, the index 308 may be populated by manually linkingthe pointers 310 to particular points in the content 124A. For example,the beginning 316 and end 318 of the teaser 302 may be manually locatedin the content 124A. Then, the values of pointers 310A and 310B in theindex 308 may be manually set to respectively point to these locationsin content 124A. Similarly, the end 320 of the title sequence/openingcredits 304 may be manually located in the content 124A, and then thevalue of pointer 310C may be set to point to this location.

In other embodiments, the index 308 may be populated using acrowdsourced approach wherein users 112 at media systems 104collectively identify points of interest in content 124, such as but notlimited to the beginning 316 and end 318 of the teaser 302 and the end320 of the title sequence/opening credits 304. An example embodiment ofsuch an approach is shown as flowchart 602 in FIG. 6 . Method 602 can beperformed by processing logic that can comprise hardware (e.g.,circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.),software (e.g., instructions executing on a processing device), or acombination thereof. It is to be appreciated that not all steps may beneeded to perform the disclosure provided herein. Further, some of thesteps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order thanshown in FIG. 6 , as will be understood by a person of ordinary skill inthe art. For illustrative purposes, method 602 is described withreference to FIGS. 1-3 although it is not limited to these exampleembodiments.

In 604, media device 108 (such as streaming module 202 and/or userinterface module 206) may detect a fast forward command issued by theuser 112 while content 124A is being streamed to display device 106. Themedia device 108 may record the point in content 124A that was beingdisplayed on display device 106 when the fast forward command wasreceived. The point may be denoted as position 1, or P1. In someembodiments, operation 604 is performed only for the first fast forwarddetected while streaming the content 124A to the display device 106.

In 606, media device 108 (such as streaming module 202 and/or processingmodule 204) may determine if P1 occurs within a monitoring window 350 ofcontent 124A. In some embodiments, the monitoring window 350 is aportion of the content 124A where the title sequence/opening credits 304normally occurs. For example, the monitoring window 350 may be set tothe first 5-10 minutes of the content 124A.

If P1 is outside the monitoring window 350, then it is likely the user112's fast forward command is not related to skipping the titlesequence/opening credits 304. Thus, the flowchart ends at 608.

If P1 is within the monitoring window 350, then it is possible the user112's fast forward command is for the purpose of skipping the titlesequence/opening credits 304. Accordingly, the media device 108 (such asstreaming module 202 and/or user interface module 206) may monitor anddetect when the user 112 discontinues the fast forward operation. Themedia device 108 may record the point in content 124A that was beingdisplayed on display device 106 when the fast forward command wasdiscontinued. The point may be denoted as position 2, or P2.

In 612, the media device 108 may store P1 and P2 in database 208.

In 614, periodically or at predefined times, media device 108 may uploadP1 and P2 to crowdsource server(s) 114 via network 120.

In some embodiments, operations 604-612 may be performed by media device108 whenever the content 124A is played from the beginning 316 on thedisplay device 106. Additionally or alternatively, operations 604-612may be performed by media device 108 for every fast forward commanddetected within the monitoring window 350. Accordingly, multiple P1/P2sets may be stored in database 208 when operation 614 is performed. Insuch cases, the media device 108 in 614 may upload to the crowdsourceserver(s) 114 all of the P1/P2 sets stored in database 208 at the timeoperation 614 is performed.

In some embodiments, operations 604-614 are performed by any combinationof media systems 104 in the multimedia environment 102.

In 616, boundary processing module 116 in crowdsource server 114 may usethe P1/P2 timing information associated with the content 124A, receivedfrom media systems 104 as well as stored in database 208, to generate acrowdsourced determination of the beginning 318 and the end 320 of thetitle sequence/opening credits 304 of the content 124A. In someembodiments, the boundary processing module 116 in 616 may average thePIs to generate a crowdsourced determination of the beginning 318 of thetitle sequence/opening credits 304, and may average the P2 s to generatea crowdsourced determination of the end 320 of the titlesequence/opening credits 304, or may process the P1 s and P2 s using anyother system defined statistical or mathematical function or process togenerate crowdsourced values of the beginning 318 and the end 320 of thetitle sequence/opening credits 304 of the content 124A. The P1 s, P2 sand crowdsourced values of the beginning 318 and the end 320 of thetitle sequence/opening credits 304 of the content 124A may be stored indatabase 118.

In 618, the crowdsource server 114 may transmit the crowdsourced valuesof the beginning 318 and the end 320 of the title sequence/openingcredits 304 of the content 124A to the content servers 122 and/or mediadevices 108 for storage in the index 308 of metadata 126A.

Embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to skipping the titlesequence/opening credits 304 of content 124A. Rather, embodiments areapplicable to skipping any portion or portions of any given content oflittle interest to users 112, where the boundaries of such portion(s)may be manually determined, or determined in a crowdsourced manner asshown in FIG. 6 , and then skipped per user command as shown in FIG. 5 .

Enhanced Trick Mode to Enable Presentation of Information Related toContent being Streamed

According to some embodiments, trick mode is an ability in digital mediadevices to fast forward, rewind, pause, or otherwise manipulate content124 (at one or more speeds) during display on a display device 106. Anexample data structure embodiment of trick mode is illustrated in FIG. 4, wherein content 124B is stored in database 208 of media device 108 (ormay be streamed from content server(s) 122 to media device 108 vianetwork 120). Content 124B has a plurality of segments 414. Somesegments 414 may be the same size and some may be different. Or, thesegments 414 may all be the same size or different sizes.

Metadata 126B may be associated with content 124B and may storeinformation pertaining or relating to content 124B. Metadata 126B may bestored in database 208. Metadata 126B may include a trick mode index 402and trick mode images 406. Trick mode index 402 may include a pointer404 to each segment 414 of content 124B. Similarly, trick mode images406 may include an image 408 for each segment 414 of content 124B. Thus,for example, pointer 404A in trick mode index 402 and image 408A intrick mode images 406 correspond to segment 414A of content 124B.

In some embodiments, when media device 108 requests content 124B fromcontent server(s) 122, content server(s) 122 may transmit the requestedcontent 124B as well as the associated metadata 126B (at the same timeor at different times) to media device 108. When media device 108receives a trick mode request from the user 112 (such as a request torewind or fast forward the display of content 124B), media device 108may access the metadata 126B and use the trick mode index 402 and thetrick mode images 406 to perform the requested trick mode operation onthe display device 106. In particular, the media device 108 may displaythe trick mode images 408 corresponding to content segments 414 (asidentified by the pointers 404) as the content 124 is fast forwarded onthe display device 106. For example, during a fast forward operation,the media device 108 may display trick mode image 408E on the displaydevice 106 when the fast forward operation reaches content segment 414E,wherein this trick mode image 408E may be identified and accessed usingpointer 404E.

In some embodiments, the metadata 126B may also include associatedinformation 410. The associated information 410 may include information412 pertaining or relating to each content segment 414. Such information412 may identify, indicate and/or relate to writer, director, producer,composer, artist, actor, summary, chapters, production, history, year,trailers, alternate versions, related content, applications, and/or anyother information pertaining or relating to the content 124. Information412 may also or alternatively include links to any such informationpertaining or relating to the content 124.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method 702 for enabling users to select and viewinformation relating to content when streaming and displaying suchcontent using enhanced trick mode functionality, according to someembodiments. Method 702 can be performed by processing logic that cancomprise hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic,microcode, etc.), software (e.g., instructions executing on a processingdevice), or a combination thereof. It is to be appreciated that not allsteps may be needed to perform the disclosure provided herein. Further,some of the steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a differentorder than shown in FIG. 7 , as will be understood by a person ofordinary skill in the art. For illustrative purposes, method 702 isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 8 although it is notlimited to these example embodiments (FIG. 8 illustrates an examplescreen shot 801 displayed on display device 106, according to someembodiments).

In 706, content 124B may be streamed to display device 106 in the user112's media system 104. For example, content server(s) 122 in 706 maystream content 124B to media device 108. Content server(s) 122 may alsostream metadata 126B relating to content 124B to media device 108 (atthe same time as the streaming of content 124B, or different times). Themedia device 108 may transfer the received content 124B to displaydevice 106 for playback to user 112. In some embodiments, the content124B may be displayed in a content window 802 on the display device 106.

In 708, user interface module 206 in the media device 108 may receive arequest for a trick mode operation from user 112 (via, for example,remote control 110). The requested trick mode operation may be fastforward, rewind, pause, of any other manipulation of the display ofcontent 124B on display device 106. Streaming module 202 (working withprocessing module 204, for example) in 708 may implement the requestedtrick mode operation on the display device 106 using the trick modeindex 402 and trick mode images 406 in the metadata 126B. For example,during a trick mode fast forward operation, the streaming module 202 maydisplay trick mode images 408 in the content window 802 on the displaydevice 106 when the fast forward operation reaches content segments 414corresponding to those trick mode images 408, wherein the trick modeimages 408 may be identified and accessed using associated pointers 404.

Also in 708, while implementing the requested trick mode operation, thestreaming module 202 (working with processing module 204, for example)may enable an “associated information” option. For example, thestreaming module 202 may display an “Info” button 804 at a location ondisplay device 106 outside the content window 802 where the content 124Bis being displayed.

In 710, if the user 112 selects the Info button 804 or otherwise selectsthe “associated information” option (using, for example, the remotecontrol 110), the streaming module 202 (working with the processingmodule 204, for example) may retrieve associated information 412corresponding to the content segment 414 currently being displayed (thatis, featured) via trick mode on the display device 106, and may displaysuch retrieved associated information 412 in an associated informationwindow 806 on the display device 106. The associated information window806 may partially or fully overlap with the content window 802, or maynot overlap at all (this latter case is shown in the example of FIG. 8).

For example, assume during a trick mode fast forward operation, trickmode image 4081 corresponding to content segment 4141 is being displayedin the content window 802 on the display device 106. If, at this time,the user 112 presses the Info button 804, then the streaming module 202may use the associated pointer 4041 to retrieve the associatedinformation 4121 corresponding to content segment 4141, and may displaythe retrieved associated information 4121 in the associated informationwindow 806.

In some embodiments, in 710, the trick mode operation is suspended whenthe user 112 selects the Info button 804 and the retrieved associatedinformation 4121 is displayed in the associated information window 806.This is done to allow the user 112 to view the information in theassociated information window 806. The trick mode operation is resumedwhen the user 112 selects the Info button 804 a second time.

In some embodiments, operations 708 and 710 may be available only fornon-fast forward and non-fast rewind trick mode operations. In otherembodiments, operations 708 and 710 may be available for all trick modeoperations.

Example Computer System

Various embodiments and/or components therein can be implemented, forexample, using one or more computer systems, such as computer system 900shown in FIG. 9 . Computer system 900 can be any computer or computingdevice capable of performing the functions described herein. Forexample, one or more computer systems 900 can be used to implement thedevices and operations of FIGS. 1-8 .

Computer system 900 includes one or more processors (also called centralprocessing units, or CPUs), such as a processor 904. Processor 904 isconnected to a communication infrastructure or bus 906.

One or more processors 904 can each be a graphics processing unit (GPU).In some embodiments, a GPU is a processor that is a specializedelectronic circuit designed to process mathematically intensiveapplications. The GPU can have a parallel structure that is efficientfor parallel processing of large blocks of data, such as mathematicallyintensive data common to computer graphics applications, images, videos,etc.

Computer system 900 also includes user input/output device(s) 903, suchas monitors, keyboards, pointing devices, etc., that communicate withcommunication infrastructure 906 through user input/output interface(s)902.

Computer system 900 also includes a main or primary memory 908, such asrandom access memory (RAM). Main memory 908 can include one or morelevels of cache. Main memory 908 has stored therein control logic (i.e.,computer software) and/or data.

Computer system 900 can also include one or more secondary storagedevices or memory 910. Secondary memory 910 can include, for example, ahard disk drive 912 and/or a removable storage device or drive 914.Removable storage drive 914 can be a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tapedrive, a compact disk drive, an optical storage device, tape backupdevice, and/or any other storage device/drive.

Removable storage drive 914 can interact with a removable storage unit918. Removable storage unit 918 includes a computer usable or readablestorage device having stored thereon computer software (control logic)and/or data. Removable storage unit 918 can be a floppy disk, magnetictape, compact disk, DVD, optical storage disk, and/any other computerdata storage device. Removable storage drive 914 reads from and/orwrites to removable storage unit 918 in a well-known manner.

According to an exemplary embodiment, secondary memory 910 can includeother means, instrumentalities or other approaches for allowing computerprograms and/or other instructions and/or data to be accessed bycomputer system 900. Such means, instrumentalities or other approachescan include, for example, a removable storage unit 922 and an interface920. Examples of the removable storage unit 922 and the interface 920can include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as thatfound in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROMor PROM) and associated socket, a memory stick and USB port, a memorycard and associated memory card slot, and/or any other removable storageunit and associated interface.

Computer system 900 can further include a communication or networkinterface 924. Communication interface 924 enables computer system 900to communicate and interact with any combination of remote devices,remote networks, remote entities, etc. (individually and collectivelyreferenced by reference number 928). For example, communicationinterface 924 can allow computer system 900 to communicate with remotedevices 928 over communications path 926, which can be wired and/orwireless, and which can include any combination of LANs, WANs, theInternet, etc. Control logic and/or data can be transmitted to and fromcomputer system 900 via communication path 926.

In some embodiments, a tangible apparatus or article of manufacturecomprising a tangible computer useable or readable medium having controllogic (software) stored thereon is also referred to herein as a computerprogram product or program storage device. This includes, but is notlimited to, computer system 900, main memory 908, secondary memory 910,and removable storage units 918 and 922, as well as tangible articles ofmanufacture embodying any combination of the foregoing. Such controllogic, when executed by one or more data processing devices (such ascomputer system 900), causes such data processing devices to operate asdescribed herein.

Based on the teachings contained in this disclosure, it will be apparentto persons skilled in the relevant art(s) how to make and useembodiments of this disclosure using data processing devices, computersystems and/or computer architectures other than that shown in FIG. 9 .In particular, embodiments can operate with software, hardware, and/oroperating system implementations other than those described herein.

Conclusion

It is to be appreciated that the Detailed Description section, and notthe Summary and Abstract sections, is intended to be used to interpretthe claims. The Summary and Abstract sections can set forth one or morebut not all exemplary embodiments as contemplated by the inventors, andthus, are not intended to limit this disclosure or the appended claimsin any way.

While this disclosure describes exemplary embodiments for exemplaryfields and applications, it should be understood that the disclosure isnot limited thereto. Other embodiments and modifications thereto arepossible, and are within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Forexample, and without limiting the generality of this paragraph,embodiments are not limited to the software, hardware, firmware, and/orentities illustrated in the figures and/or described herein. Further,embodiments (whether or not explicitly described herein) havesignificant utility to fields and applications beyond the examplesdescribed herein.

Embodiments have been described herein with the aid of functionalbuilding blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functionsand relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of thedescription. Alternate boundaries can be defined as long as thespecified functions and relationships (or equivalents thereof) areappropriately performed. Also, alternative embodiments can performfunctional blocks, steps, operations, methods, etc. using orderingsdifferent than those described herein.

References herein to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an exampleembodiment,” or similar phrases, indicate that the embodiment describedcan include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, butevery embodiment can not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it would be within the knowledge of persons skilled in therelevant art(s) to incorporate such feature, structure, orcharacteristic into other embodiments whether or not explicitlymentioned or described herein. Additionally, some embodiments can bedescribed using the expression “coupled” and “connected” along withtheir derivatives. These terms are not necessarily intended as synonymsfor each other. For example, some embodiments can be described using theterms “connected” and/or “coupled” to indicate that two or more elementsare in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. The term“coupled,” however, can also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interactwith each other.

The breadth and scope of this disclosure should not be limited by any ofthe above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: streaming content to adisplay device for display; determining an end of a teaser portion hasbeen reached, in the stream of the content to the display device, usingcrowdsourced metadata; providing, responsive to the determining the endof the teaser portion has been reached in the stream of the content tothe display device using the crowdsourced metadata, a skin icon to thedisplay device for display; receiving a selection of the skip icon toadvance past a title sequence/opening credits portion of the content;determining an end to the title sequence/opening credits portion of thecontent using the crowdsourced metadata; and advancing the streaming ofthe content to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portion ofthe content.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the endof the teaser portion has been reached comprises: accessing an index inthe crowdsourced metadata; accessing a first pointer in the indexcorresponding to the end of the teaser portion in the content; and usingthe first pointer to determine that the end of the teaser portion hasbeen reached in the stream of the content to the display device.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the determining the end to the titlesequence/opening credits portion of the content further comprises:accessing the index; and accessing a second pointer in the indexcorresponding to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portionof the content; wherein the advancing the streaming of the contentcomprises using the second pointer to advance the streaming of thecontent to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portion of thecontent.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: receiving acommand input to begin a fast forward operation; determining a firstlocation in the streaming of the content corresponding to the receipt ofthe command input to begin the fast forward operation; receiving acommand input to discontinue the fast forward operation; determining asecond location in the streaming of the content corresponding to thereceipt of the command input to discontinue the fast forward operation;and providing information identifying the first location and the secondlocation to at least one crowdsource server, wherein the at least onecrowdsource server uses the information from a plurality of mediadevices to determine crowdsourced determinations of the end of theteaser portion in the content and the end of the title sequence/openingcredits portion of the content.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thedetermining the first location further comprises: determining the firstlocation is within a monitoring window associated with the content. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the selection is received from a remotecontrol wirelessly coupled to a device configured to stream the contentto the display device.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the skip iconis displayed in a location outside of the content on the display device.8. A system comprising: one or more memories; and at least one processoreach coupled to at least one of the memories and configured to performoperations comprising: streaming content to a display device fordisplay; determining an end of a teaser portion has been reached, in thestream of the content to the display device, using crowdsourcedmetadata; providing, responsive to the determining the end of the teaserportion has been reached in the stream of the content to the displaydevice using the crowdsourced metadata, a skin icon to the displaydevice for display; receiving a selection of the skip icon to advancepast a title sequence/opening credits portion of the content;determining an end to the title sequence/opening credits portion of thecontent using the crowdsourced metadata; and advancing the streaming ofthe content to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portion ofthe content.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the determining the endof the teaser portion has been reached comprises: accessing an index inthe crowdsourced metadata; accessing a first pointer in the indexcorresponding to the end of the teaser portion in the content; and usingthe first pointer to determine that the end of the teaser portion hasbeen reached in the stream of the content to the display device.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the determining the end to the titlesequence/opening credits portion of the content further comprises:accessing the index; and accessing a second pointer in the indexcorresponding to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portionof the content; wherein the advancing the streaming of the contentcomprises using the second pointer to advance the streaming of thecontent to the end of the title sequence/opening credits portion of thecontent.
 11. The system of claim 10, the operations further comprising:receiving a command input to begin a fast forward operation; determininga first location in the streaming of the content corresponding to thereceipt of the command input to begin the fast forward operation;receiving a command input to discontinue the fast forward operation;determining a second location in the streaming of the contentcorresponding to the receipt of the command input to discontinue thefast forward operation; and providing information identifying the firstlocation and the second location to at least one crowdsource server,wherein the at least one crowdsource server uses the information from aplurality of media devices to determine crowdsourced determinations ofthe end of the teaser portion in the content and the end of the titlesequence/opening credits portion of the content.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the determining the first location further comprises:determining the first location is within a monitoring window associatedwith the content.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the selection isreceived from a remote control wirelessly coupled to a device configuredto stream the content to the display device.
 14. The system of claim 8,wherein the skip icon is displayed in a location outside of the contenton the display device.
 15. A non-transitory processor-readable mediumhaving one or more instructions operational on a computing device which,when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operationscomprising: streaming content to a display device for display;determining an end of a teaser portion has been reached in the stream ofthe content to the display device using crowdsourced metadata;providing, responsive to the determining the end of the teaser portionhas been reached in the stream of the content to the display deviceusing the crowdsourced metadata, a skin icon to the display device fordisplay; receiving a selection of the skip icon to advance past a titlesequence/opening credits portion of the content; determining an end tothe title sequence/opening credits portion of the content using thecrowdsourced metadata; and advancing the streaming of the content to theend of the title sequence/opening credits portion of the content. 16.The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15, wherein thedetermining the end of the teaser portion has been reached comprises:accessing an index in the crowdsourced metadata; accessing a firstpointer in the index corresponding to the end of the teaser portion inthe content; and using the first pointer to determine that the end ofthe teaser portion has been reached in the stream of the content to thedisplay device.
 17. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 16, wherein the determining the end to the title sequence/openingcredits portion of the content further comprises: accessing the index;and accessing a second pointer in the index corresponding to the end ofthe title sequence/opening credits portion of the content; wherein theadvancing the streaming of the content comprises using the secondpointer to advance the streaming of the content to the end of the titlesequence/opening credits portion of the content.
 18. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 17, the operations furthercomprising: receiving a command input to begin a fast forward operation;determining a first location in the streaming of the contentcorresponding to the receipt of the command input to begin the fastforward operation; receiving a command input to discontinue the fastforward operation; determining a second location in the streaming of thecontent corresponding to the receipt of the command input to discontinuethe fast forward operation; and providing information identifying thefirst location and the second location to at least one crowdsourceserver, wherein the at least one crowdsource server uses the informationfrom a plurality of media devices to determine crowdsourceddeterminations of the end of the teaser portion in the content and theend of the title sequence/opening credits portion of the content. 19.The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 18, wherein thedetermining the first location further comprises: determining the firstlocation is within a monitoring window associated with the content. 20.The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theselection is received from a remote control wirelessly coupled to adevice configured to stream the content to the display device, andwherein the skip icon is displayed in a location outside of the contenton the display device.